


shelter

by kumo_is_kumo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Breaking Up & Making Up, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 03:12:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19803544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kumo_is_kumo/pseuds/kumo_is_kumo
Summary: In which Chanyeol will always be a shelter for Baekhyun to come home to.





	shelter

**Author's Note:**

> just an excuse to write a break up make up au

Baekhyun is actually not one to hold grudges. Everytime he broke up with someone, he didn’t hold any grudges, but he was not one to keep the facade to be friendly with them as well. He and whoever his partner broke up because they didn’t feel something that could keep them being together, so it was only fair that they separated ways and pretended that they didn’t know each other.

But somehow, with his latest partner, Baekhyun couldn’t help but to seek for the other’s news or condition once in a while. Call him pathetic, yes he admits that he hasn’t been able to move on. 

He can’t blame anyone because Chanyeol was that one kind man with good manners and soft laughter. Baekhyun loved him so much, he still  loves  him even until now. Their break up was already six months ago and it’s supposed to be the time for Baekhyun to move on and meet new people if it’s in his previous routine, but he doesn’t know why he is so hung up for Chanyeol.

It was a whole happy three years of relationship until they grew tired of fighting with each other and ended up breaking apart. Baekhyun regrets his decision, he should have not agreed to Chanyeol’s proposal of them breaking up, but he was too sad and too angry at that time to even think properly. If he begged for them to stay together, he might still be curled up in Chanyeol’s bed right now.

The thought of missing Chanyeol is occupying his mind. He wonders if Chanyeol is feeling the same? That’s his daily curiosity, but everytime he thinks about it, he is reminded that Chanyeol has moved on from him. It hurts, but when he scrolls around Chanyeol’s social media pages and sees the man looking so happy, he realizes that he is no longer a part of the man’s life anymore.

Chanyeol has always been the more successful in between the two of them. He has more money, his family is influential, his friends are all business people, and he is well educated. Baekhyun is a stark contrast from him, the exact opposite. He doesn’t have that much money, his family is only a group of farmers in the countryside, his friends are just as struggling as he is, and he was barely graduated from college after taking so many years off to earn money.

Meeting with Chanyeol was one of the best moments in his life. Chanyeol, being a high class man he was, bumped against Baekhyun in one of an event where he worked as a waiter. It was pretty much cliche like in any drama, but somehow they didn’t really notice each other at that moment. It was their second time meeting later that tied them into this relationship.

Baekhyun was out on a shopping duty when he bumped against the son of the supermarket’s owner, eventually spilling all over the tangerine in his basket. It was so embarrassing because everyone was looking at him crouching down on the floor, trying to catch every single one of rolling tangerines. 

Chanyeol was there, not blaming anything on him of the dirty stain on his suit. He was there to help him collect the tangerines back into his basket, and Baekhyun apologizes thoroughly to the man. By the end of the day, Chanyeol drove him back to the restaurant he worked at and even asked for his number.

Their relationship pretty much grew from there. It was all friendship at first, but something grew in their every meeting that Baekhyun realized that he had pretty much fallen in love with the man.

It was all beautiful and happiness, those moments Baekhyun had when he spent his time with Chanyeol. They held hands, they went on dates, they kissed, they made love, they promised an eternity, but that last one didn’t come up to reality because so many things happening at once and the thread between them just snapped.

It led to a fight, and then an apology. One fight grew to two fights, and then it escalated quickly into daily misunderstandings and fights that Baekhyun couldn’t take it anymore and decided to walk out of Chanyeol’s life forever. 

Sometimes he wonders. If he didn’t snap at that time, would he still be a happy man with Chanyeol?

*

The walks he takes nowadays feel so empty and meaningless. It’s lacking of the warmth he used to love and once again serves as a reminder that he is all alone again.

He thinks he is doing okay. He can proceed with life just like usual, but he questions himself of why he has to bump into one of Chanyeol’s friends who shows his dislike upon him.

A bookstore. Baekhyun barely steps into the place for no less than five minutes and someone with a sly smile is already approaching him.

“What do we have here. It’s been a while, Baekhyun.”

The voice is just as cold as he remembers and he lifts his head in shame. He really doesn’t want to be involved with Chanyeol’s friends because no one liked him. They always saw him as a poor one.

“Hello,” Baekhyun greets as polite as he could but all he could is a mocking laugh.

“You still have the nerve to show up in this area.”

Baekhyun knows that this area is the place where Chanyeol and his friends often to hang out at, but he certainly doesn’t expect to meet, let alone be greeted by one of them.

Maybe it would be better if he goes to the other side of the bookstore, because he really needs to find this one book. He also wants to avoid this person so it better be a good idea.

Luck is not on his side however, when the person purposely hangs around him. Baekhyun can’t just snap at the person because one, he is Chanyeol’s friend, and two, he is a famous lawyer. He can’t just snap at that man or he will be sued almost instantly. He doesn’t need anymore mess to add to his life.

“I think I saw you a while ago. You are working on the street now?”

Baekhyun chews down on his lip to shut his mouth from talking back. It’s true though, he is working on the street now. Life was so easy with Chanyeol, even though he swears he didn’t take advantage of Chanyeol, but the man made his life a whole lot easier. He made Baekhyun forgot the difficulty of living in this world, making his life looked better and felt bearable.

He works on the street now, giving away flyers to people. It’s a tough job but it’s the only job that he could get for now. 

“Hey, answer me, you brat.” The man says, pushing two fingers against his head. Baekhyun stumbles back for a bit before he regains his feet back. 

“Oh, are you ashamed that you are done leeching off from Chanyeol’s money? You are done playing the gold digger and now no one wants to help you anymore?”

Tears fill Baekhyun’s lids as he feels humiliated by those words. People often said the same thing to him, calling him a leech and gold digger, but Chanyeol always told him that he shouldn’t listen to those words. Now that Chanyeol is not there to assure him, Baekhyun starts to think that it’s true. That he was practically just living off of Chanyeol’s money for all this time, that his love for the man meant nothing at all.

“Oh, hey, Chanyeol. Didn’t see you there.” The man says and Baekhyun feels his whole being freezes. Out of so many times that Baekhyun is wishing to meet Chanyeol, why now?

He shakily takes some steps back and spins around, being greeted with Chanyeol’s curious face which quickly turns to worry upon seeing the unshed tears in Baekhyun’s eyes.

“Baekhyun,” he calls softly, as his whole face scrunches up in a frown.

Baekhyun avoids the man altogether and runs away, wanting to hide from the rest of the world. Everyone is laughing at him, mocking him for being a poor person, making fun of him because he can’t stand up for himself.

Chanyeol and him are over, so there won’t be anymore chance of the man telling him that he is more valuable than anything in this world.

Baekhyun is worth nothing.

*

Work goes along as usual. Baekhyun stands under the blazing sun, wearing a uniform sticking to his skin due to his sweat, and offering polite yet tired smile to everyone ignoring and refusing to accept his flyers. 

A sigh flies past his lips, as he feels his stomach grumbling in hunger and his head spinning from a headache. He didn’t have a proper breakfast earlier, only a protein bar and a glass of water. He doesn’t have the time to buy something to fill his cupboard, even his instant noodles are running out.

As he gazes down to the flyers in his grasp, Baekhyun can’t help but to think all over again. Maybe he was being too dependant on Chanyeol, trusting him on blind eyes, and thinking that they would be together until the end of the time. He let Chanyeol coaxed him to quit his three jobs so he wouldn’t be exhausted, he let Chanyeol took him to his many high class events, he let Chanyeol assured him that he was so precious that no one was allowed to touch him. 

It was all a lie. Baekhyun watches his hands tremble as he tries his best to keep his tears from spilling, but with how tired he is, it’s impossible to do so.

The sky roars and the rain is about to fall. Baekhyun should hurry and pack his things, or him and his flyers would be drenched soon.

He stuffs his flyers into his bag, stopping a few times to wipe his blurred eyes with his sleeves. What he doesn’t expect is bumping into someone when he stands up.

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol calls with concern laced in his voice. Baekhyun takes a surprised step back, his eyes glancing here and there to find any way of escape, but the man clasps a hand around his wrist.

“Why are you here? Where are you going?” The man asks, keeping his hold on his wrist firm but still not hurting. Baekhyun tries to yank his hand away but Chanyeol wouldn’t let him go, until they feel the start of raindrops dropping on top of their head.

Chanyeol looks up at the dark sky and without any words, he starts pulling Baekhyun away to his car. Baekhyun panics, trying to escape but the man doesn’t budge and even tells him to get into his car.

“Just get inside for now. The rain won’t be stopping anytime soon.”

So that’s how he is now seated in the passenger seat of Chanyeol’s car, with the man driving them away to somewhere he doesn’t know. He sits stiffly in the seat, eyes boring holes to his trembly hands. Chanyeol hasn’t said anything yet, only driving silently and turning the heater full on to keep them warm.

It’s clear that Chanyeol doesn’t know where he lives now, because he moved out from the man’s place and found a small place for himself. Chanyeol drives them to a park, stopping his car at the entrance of it.

It’s silent in the car, safe from Chanyeol’s breathing.

“How are you, Baekhyun?” He asks softly. Baekhyun keeps his head bent low and he just gives the man a nod as an answer. There is no way out of this. It’s either he stays here in the car with Chanyeol, or he can just storn outside under the rain to run.

“Why were you there in the street? Why were you passing flyers? What about your previous job?” Chanyeol asks impatiently, his curiosity takes over him.

Baekhyun doesn’t know what to answer. He just wants to run away. He doesn’t want to be cooped in a narrow space with Chanyeol while he is trying his best to move on.

“I- I need to go,” he mutters, reaching for the car lock, but Chanyeol is quicker than him. He locks all the doors and keeps a firm grip on his hand.

“Baekhyun, why are you avoiding me?” He asks, and Baekhyun is this close to snapping at the man. His tears are threatening to fall and he clearly doesn’t need this at all.

“Baekhyun, please-”

“Why do you care?” He snaps, lifting his head up altogether and causing a single tear to roll down his cheek. “Why do you care? We are over, Chanyeol! I don’t need your pity!”

Chanyeol stares at him with worry and concern all over his face.

“I don’t pity you,” he says softly, reaching to wipe the tears away but Baekhyun flinches away from him. Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind it and settles his palm on the side of Baekhyun’s face. It’s warm, the touch is warm and Baekhyun finds himself crying a few more drops.

“Why are you working there? I don’t want you to get sick, Baekhyun. Look at how pale you are.”

“Don’t pretend that you care, Chanyeol. Please.” He begs softly. His heart is hurting enough.

“I’m not pretending. I care for you, baby.”

The pet name makes Baekhyun cries and he lets himself to be pulled into a hug. He is a weak man. He is weak for Chanyeol and he won’t be able to refuse the man.

Chanyeol starts peppering kisses all over his face and Baekhyun lets out hiccups as he cries his heart out. 

“Why are you there?”

“No one wants to hire an inexperienced man like me. No one wants to employ a poor man like me. You should have known it.” He murmurs, closing his eyes when Chanyeol kisses his eyelids.

“Baekhyun, I’m so sorry.”

“It was not entirely your fault. Half of it was mine.” Baekhyun mutters softly. 

Chanyeol keeps the hold on his face and silently stares at him.

“Baekhyun, love, come back to me.”

His words make Baekhyun’s heart starts to beat out of control. There is a glimmer of hope in his chest but he is not one to hurt himself again.

“No. We are over the moment I walked out of your place, Chanyeol. I can’t-”

“Don’t you love me anymore?” Chanyeol asks, asking something so absurd. It’s obvious that Baekhyun wouldn’t be able to forget him and he even has the nerve to ask him about that?

“Why does it matter anyway? What changes can be made?”

Chanyeol cradles his face in his hands and Baekhyun holds his breath when the man pulls him closer.

“If you still love me, I can kiss you.” He says sternly and Baekhyun finds himself glancing down to the man’s plump lips. It’s not a good move because then Chanyeol can notice how needy he is for the man, both physically and mentally. He brings his gaze back up and is met with Chanyeol’s hard stare on him.

“If you no longer love me, then I can’t kiss.”

The time is ticking and the rain is still just as heavy as before. The sounds of the rain dropping on the hood of the car are loud, yet Baekhyun can only focus on how his breathing has grown faster when Chanyeol is moving even closer to him, head tilted aside.

“...don’t,” he manages to whisper. He actually doesn’t know what he wishes for. A part of him wants to hold Chanyeol closer while another part wants to push the man away.

His fingers curl around the man’s shirt and somehow, they pull him close.

Chanyeol’s mouth lands on top of his, unmoving for a good three seconds before the man devours him like he is a willing prey. Baekhyun lets out a shaky breath and backs away, getting trapped between the car’s door and Chanyeol’s well built body.

Their lips twist in longing, mouth opening to let their tongues reunite again. He doesn’t know why he is crying, but he does miss Chanyeol so much. Chanyeol was his core, someone who held him sane, so when he walked out of Chanyeol’s life, he lost his core. He lost himself and it was actually his decision.

“Stop it,” he mutters, pushing Chanyeol away. The hiccups are leaving his mouth, his tears are all streaming down his face. His chest hurts with how much he misses to be this close to the man, yet he knows he has no right to enjoy this. Chanyeol is no longer his and he has to accept that reality.

Chanyeol just asks a soft, “Why?” without saying anything else and the silence in the man makes it even harder for Baekhyun to stop crying. He shakes his head and wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his uniform.

“It was all my f-fault,” he sobs, “I was poor and I was so dumb. I  am dumb. You are so much more, you are more talented and you have such a bright future. I couldn’t be ruining your life after how I had ruined my own.”

“Baekhyun, what are you talking about?” Chanyeol asks in concern, keeping a tight hold with his hands on Baekhyun’s jaws.

“You were never there, Chanyeol. You didn’t know how hard it was for me to stand beside you as if I was a gold digger. Everyone pointed their fingers to me and they talked bad about me behind your back. In front of your face, they said about how good we were together, but they never meant anything.”

“Who? Who said all those?” Chanyeol’s voice turns hard and Baekhyun just shakes his head.

“Everyone. Every single one. Your friends, your colleagues, even your parents.”

Chanyeol says nothing right after he said that and he feels like a mess. He doesn’t mean to trash the man’s friends and family, but that was only truth that he spilled. 

“You were busy. And I was too dependant on you. We just didn’t click anymore, Chanyeol. We got into so many fights over petty things. We didn’t go well together and it was just enough for me. I couldn’t be myself when I was drowned in your world and I couldn’t keep pretending as if I was one of you. I lost the meaning of myself and you were never there to see me breaking down.”

“Baekhyun… I didn’t know any of it,” Chanyeol goes to kiss him on his mouth and Baekhyun trembles with how soft the touch is.

“You never knew because I never told you. What use it would be if I ever told you? You couldn’t change anything. You are kind and you are perfect, Chanyeol. I was just never meant to be with you in your world. Our life is too different-”

“So you left me alone? Making me wonder what I had done wrong?” Chanyeol cuts him off and Baekhyun shuts his mouth. That’s pretty much true, he did run away from the man without giving any proper explanation. He just proposed for them to break up and said that it was not working anymore. He didn’t even let Chanyeol ask him things about his abrupt decision.

“That was wrong of me-”

“Of course! You didn’t know how empty it was when you left me,” Chanyeol grunts lowly, “yet I still can’t blame you for it because I know that part of it might have been my fault.”

“Chanyeol, it was not-”

“Part of it was my fault. We were at fault, but we didn’t talk about it. We ran away and we ignored everything.”

Baekhyun lifts his gaze up and is met with how gentle Chanyeol is looking at him.

“I didn’t pay enough attention on you. It was my first mistake and I regretted it. I thought that with me having you by my side, it would be enough. It was  not enough because I made you feel like you didn’t mean anything to me. I was so wrong. I was kept in the dark of how everyone around me treated you like shit. I’m so sorry,”

“It was not your-”

Chanyeol sighs. “Can you stop saying that? It was clearly not your fault either, if we were to be fair.”

Baekhyun chews on his lip. 

“What else? Tell me more about it. About why you decided to break up with me.” Chanyeol’s tone is gentle and calming, and Baekhyun thinks it’s only fair for the man to know about all the reasons.

“I felt like leeching off your money. Before you say something, let me finish,” he says when he sees the man opening his mouth to talk. “I have always been so poor, Chanyeol. But with how you suddenly entered my life and made everything so easy, I forgot about how difficult life was. I forgot about how to struggle, I forgot about how to earn money on my own, I forgot about my true self. I appreciate that you were so kind to me, but I realized that I was too dependent on you. I want too dependent on your money and that made me feel like a gold digger.”

He pauses for a moment to see if Chanyeol is going to say something, but the man just waits for him to continue.

“You gave me shelter, you gave me money, you cared for me, you loved me, but I didn’t feel that I had done enough for you, except for being a pretty little doll for you to take to events.”

“You were not a doll for me, my goodness,” Chanyeol whispers, leaning forward until their foreheads pressed together. “You were more than a doll, you were not someone to warm my bed if that was what you were thinking. Oh my God, I’m so sorry that I made you feel that way.”

Baekhyun closes his eyes and sighs. It feels great to speak what’s on his mind, something that he has been keeping in his chest for so long. It’s great to be able to talk about those issues with Chanyeol without them having to raise their voice at one another and being angry over every single thing.

“That made me decide to leave. To break up with you. Our worlds were too different and it was scary. I couldn’t live thinking that I was just taking advantage of your wealth. I decided to leave so I could find myself again.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry-”

“But even though I left, I realized that you were and still are the one keeping me on the ground.”

He lifts his gaze up, tears blurring his sight, but he can see how that hope is gleaming in Chanyeol’s eyes.

“I’m still so much in love with you and it’s so scary-”

Chanyeol kisses him like he is his oxygen. He kisses him like he is his life, figuratively and literally. He hisses him like nothing matters, like they are made for one another, like there is no tomorrow.

The kiss means that this is going to be a new beginning for them. They have to learn to understand each other better, to always be there for one another, and to know how much they need each other in their life. It’s going to be scary, it’s going to be hard with how insecurities are going to hold them back, with how everyone is going to be against them, but they can do it.

“I love you and I’m not letting you go ever again.” Chanyeol says with finality in his tone, going back to kiss him again.

Baekhyun clutches on the man’s shoulder, welcoming him and for once, listening to what his heart wants. He wants Chanyeol and so be it.

Distance makes them grow fonder of each other, make them miss each other more, and make them realize that a talk is so much needed in a relationship. It’s not going to be easy but this is how they will learn and face the world. This is the life they signed up for and it doesn’t matter how difficult it will be. As long as there is love, nothing else matters.

“Go back home with me,” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun nods because he knows that Chanyeol will always be his shelter, his home, and someone he can always go back to.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this short fic!
> 
> Special A/N: Hello, everyone! I made this ko-fi page around a year ago, hoping that some of you guys would be kind enough to donate to me if you enjoy my content and the stuff I'm writing! I would be thankful even for a bit! Here is my ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/kumoiskumo   
> Thank you so much!


End file.
